


How the Krinch Stole Christmas (And One Heart)

by Paidendryl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: How Do I Even Do This?, I actually love that boi!, I haven't slept in three days h e L P, I saw it on instagram and now I'm putting it here because heck I was told I could, It's been 3 motherfricking days and I'm still working on the last chapter, James is a jerk in this but only for this story, M/M, NOTE: One sided James/Lance, Pining, Please just read, a fanfic not art, a hot take, also there's rhyming, but it's long, couldn't come up with anything else :), haha no worries, hence the two chapters, it hurts, it's a pain, it's the same as the grinch storyline but not, not really - Freeform, pl, please suffer with me, slow burn because yeah it is, snazzy title tho, so much rhyming asdhjgasfklhnlfvgsf, someone end me, this is a How the Grinch Stole Christmas au, this is a Krinch au, this is a serious yet not really fic, this is my take, warning for tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 12:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17182724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paidendryl/pseuds/Paidendryl
Summary: In this two chapter fic, made just for youTells the story of young boy whose Christmas was feeling blueSo he went off in search of a jolly spirit not feltBut instead gained a far greater lesson that didn't come from any gelt.- - -This is a Krinch Au story. Yup. Read at your own risk.or in other words...a horribly belated Christmas story that will be finished before the end of December!





	How the Krinch Stole Christmas (And One Heart)

**Author's Note:**

> So, you've decided to read this. Oh boy you're in for a treat! There's so much awesome rhyming that you can't even beat! In fact, this will have you rhyming for days, because this shiz loves to get stuck in your brains! Seriously tho. I think this fic deserves some praise.
> 
> HAHA, I meant to post this earlier (Like BEFORE Christmas, but my internet died and my procrastination took the wheel. But I am determined to have this out by December 28! So don't fret, this won't stay at one for long. The second chapter is halfway through!
> 
> Now, a quick note about this story-it _is_ based off the Jim Carrey movie, but I made the plot different because I didn't want this to be a copy paste of the movie itself. So please, enjoy it! I worked really hard on this, and I am still working hard on it now! I wanted this to be really good, I tried my hardest to make it longer than what I usually write. I hope it captivates you guys!
> 
> A second note- The Characters
> 
> Keith- The Krinch (A grouchy boi, a pining mess, he freaking DESERVES THE BEST)
> 
> Hunk- CIndy Lou (A good boi, he loves baking! Originally supposed to be Pidge, but as I looked at the au posted on Instagram, it revealed Hunk, and I fell in love with it because in the series he is a people person and good at helping others)
> 
> Pidge- Hunk's best friend, along with Lance (I'm trying to fit her in, I swear. But it's mostly a focus between Hunk and Keith...and Lance.)
> 
> Lance- Martha May (He wears dresses, he is pure, I love him) 
> 
> Shiro and Adam- Our grouchy boi's parents
> 
> Romelle and Allura- Officers! (Allura is Police Captain and not gonna lie, in my head she and Romelle are dating so...subtle romance hinted if you squint)
> 
> James Griffin- The Mayor (I actually love James, but for the sake of plot, _You know I had to do it to em_ )
> 
> And that's all for now! I'll let you get to reading! Enjoy!

_In part of the universe, you’ve probably seen in TV_

_There happened a story, you’d have to read to believe._

_It starts with a fellow who’s known as the Krinch._

_He’s a being who hates Christmas_

_He won’t even come near it, not even an inch!_

_Now no one knows quite the reason_

_But some do like to speculate though_

_That his hatred for the Christmas season_

_Might’ve begun deep down in his soul._

_Of course, it could also be that his heart was nearly 3 sizes too small._

_But we’ll let you decide, on just where exactly he falls._

**\- - -**

 

If you asked Keith how his life was going, he’d say pretty well. In all actuality, living alone at the top of a mountain surrounded by nature and silence, he’d probably also say he was living the dream.

There was nothing like living a good distance away from Garrisonville to keep his sanity intact.

After all, you’d have to be insane like those Atlas folk in order to live there, surrounded by chaotic festivities, drinking hot chocolate that _supposedly_ was so good you could feel it all the way down to your toes…not to mention friendly smiles and warm faces that were happy to greet you, and blue eyes like the ocean that would light up and make you feel, well, _something_ like pure happiness.

Keith scrunched his nose as he stared down from atop his perch on the mountain, his indigo eyes glaring menacingly at the buzzing town below him, their cheerful voices ringing in the calm of day with joyful triumph as they went about preparing for the holiday that was only a few days away. He turned away quickly and stalked back towards his home, whistling sharp and quick to call his dog, Kosmo, to come with him as well.

Yeah, he thought, sneering to himself, _insane_.

 

**\- - -**

Hunk Garret wasn’t prone to celebrating Holidays. Well, okay, normally he _was_ , but this year for him had put him into quite some funk that seemed unbreakable. Christmas time was great, and in the past years he loved it.

But, he noted that this year, Christmas just…didn’t feel like Christmas.

And he didn’t know why. Perhaps it was because of the craziness that infected the rest of the people of Garrisonville whenever this season came around? Or the overpriced presents and the hype that was associated with gift-giving? Or maybe it was in the way his parents were both eagerly overexcited to get their house decorated to the brim with lights and smelling like Santa Clause’s for the upcoming competitions their small town held?

Whatever it was, it had him feeling un-Christmassy.

He sighed, pausing in his cooking of sweets and treats for the huge Christmas party their town held.

“You ever wonder about how crazy this whole Christmas celebration is?” He asked out of the blue, his voice tight and grim. His friend Pidge, paused in her writing, putting her pencil down and rubbing at her eyes. She glanced up from the word-filled paper, and looked at him, confusion etched clearly onto her face.

“No? Not really,” She said slowly, adjusting her glasses, “Christmas is always a crazy time,” she added with a shrug.

Hunk pursed his lips, staring calmly into his bowl of cookie mix, “Yeah, but…this whole Christmas getup just feels so… _superfluous_ , ya know? It seems that all everyone cares about is how many gifts they have and making sure that everyone knows just how much they love the season. It’s…weird,” he finished lamely. Pidge listened quietly, quirking an eyebrow at her friend.

“Whoah,” she began, smiling with friendly tease, “That’s a bit out of character for you. Something wrong?” she asked, her eyes lit up with concern. Hunk sighed, absentmindedly going back to stirring his mix.

“Nothing’s _wrong_ ,” he said, “It’s just…Christmas feels a little bland this year. Maybe I’m depressed?”

Before Pidge could get a word in, the door to Hunk’s family’s bakery opened, the bell at the top _dinging_ with a happy chime. They both turned to see a tall figure walking in, adorned in a beautiful short red and white Christmas dress that resembled a female version of Santa Clause’s outfit, they also wore simple red heels, and a Santa hat on top of their head to top it all off. They held a basket in their arms filled with red and purple envelopes.

“Merry Christmas my wonderfully friends!” They chirped at the top of their lungs. Both Pidge and Hunk winced.

“Hello Lance,” Pidge grumbled, but leaned into the hug her friend gave her nonetheless.

“Hey buddy,” Hunk grinned, reaching from behind his work area to fist bump the other, “I’d hug you, but I’m all covered in batter.”

Lance grinned, bright and energetic as always, “S’no worries dude,” He replied back, “Got any made sweets I can sample?”

Hunk snorted and rolled his eyes, but he walked to a counter near his area and returned back to the front with a plate of freshly baked desserts. Lance smiled giddily, grabbing a sugar cookie and biting into it immediately, “Mmm!” He moaned, “Hunk you make the best sweets!”

“Aw thanks, man,” his friend smiled back.

Lance winked at him before turning around to rest his back against the counter, chewing idly on the sweet in his hand, “So,” he said, “What are you guys talking about?”

Hunk pressed his lips into a thin line and looked at Pidge as if to tell her not to say anything about their conversation, but, like the person Pidge was, she ignored it with a smirk and relayed to Lance what Hunk had told her. Which in turn, received a loud gasp from Lance who turned to look at his friend with wide eyes. Hunk groaned, going back to baking. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share with Lance his worries, it was just that he knew just how much the other cared for the holiday spirit, and without a doubt, Hunk was positive Lance would give him an earful.

“Bland?!” His friend cried, hands slamming down against the marble counter, “Christmas _bland_?! Hunk, are you nuts?”

Hunk let out a whine, “I know, I _know_!” He said.

Lance threw his hands up in the air, “Christmas is _the_ best time of the year! The _most_ wonderful time of the year! Have you even heard the song Hunk? Huh? That’s basically a universal declaration of how awesome Christmas is!”

Hunk rubbed his temples, “I know the song Lance,” he huffed, “But like I was telling Pidge, I just don’t _feel_ it this year,” he frowned, “It’s like…there’s _more_ to Christmas than just songs, gifts, and desserts.”

“Well duh,” Lance said, “ _Of course_ there’s more to Christmas than just that,” he grinned, “There’s also the decorations, the Christmas lights when they’re lit up at night, and the Christmas tree!” he counted off, “Not to mention the colors; silver and gold, red and purple-,”

“Green,” Pidge muttered.

“What?” Lance said, looking at her.

“It’s red and green, not red and _purple_. I thought I already explained this to you.”

“No, no,” Lance said, his hands up in a stop motion and eyes closed as he shook his head, “It’s purple. I’m positive.”

“Green.”

“Purple.”

“In what _world_ is it purple?”

“This one! Hunk, back me up!”

“She’s got a point, Lance. It is green,” he said. Lance gave him a look of betrayal.

“Hunk, how could you?” Lance said dramatically, falling against the counter and covering his eyes with his arm. Hunk chuckled and shook his head.

“What’re the envelopes for?” He asked, changing the subject. Lance peeked out from under his arm and perked up.

“Oh yeah!” He said, straightening himself up, “These are invitations to only the greatest Christmas party ever!” He smiled, reaching to pull out one red and one purple-much to Pidge’s dismay-envelope to hand out to his friends, “My man, James, put me in charge of the Garrisonville Christmas Celebration,” he said, almost proudly, “Invitations aren’t necessary to get in since it’s opened to the public, but I thought it’d be a nice way of making sure everyone remembers to save the date. Not that they’d forget,” he chuckled.

Pidge took the red one, because it was closer and not for any other reason, leaving Hunk to take the purple one. Lance waited patiently for them to open the letters before his eyes wandered down to the letters in his basket. His eyes stayed focused on the soft purple colored ones, his eyes seeming to glaze over with some far away memory as he touched one of the envelopes, his fingers wishing it was something else, something _softer_ yet with the barest hint of wiry.

“Whoah hoho, Lance!” Hunk’s voice rang out, snapping Lance out of the memoir he had been slipping into. He blinked and looked up, fixing a smile as his friends both complimented him on his creativity skills. The invites weren’t anything special really. The words were golden and written on a creamy pale stock card, the edges bordered with a deep maroon of beautiful swirls that were outlined with just the slightest touch of glitter. Simple, classy, and also with the subtle hint of awesomeness.

“Pretty, right?” he hummed, “I worked on them all of this past week,” he said proudly. He rolled his shoulders back and righted his hat before giving one last bright smile, “I’d love to stay and chat guys, but I’ve got a bunch of cards to deliver.”

“Right, right,” Pidge said, “As the mayor’s right hand _boyfriend_ you wouldn’t want to let him down,” she teased. Lance blushed and pouted.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” he countered, a little too quickly and snappish for his liking, “We’re just…testing the waters.” He later amended.

“For eleven years?” Pidge deadpanned.

“Oho! She’s got you there!” Hunk chimed in.

Lance flushed redder, “I’m just not ready to settle down yet, ya know? Besides, a mayor and his secretary? Talk about taboo!” he said, voice getting loud as he went from embarrassed to flustered in a matter of seconds, “N-now if you’ll _excuse me_ , I’ve got some delivering to do and Christmas spirit to bestow onto others! I’ll talk to you guys later,” he said quickly, turning around to ignore the knowing smirks his friends were no doubt giving each other.

As he made his way hurriedly to the door, head down, he crashed into a firm chest. He stuttered, mouth already moving to give apologies to the stranger he had run into.

“I am _so_ sorry!” He said, looking up to see who it was. From what he could see, the other seemed to be wearing a hooded cape of some kind, their face hidden by a loose fringe. Lance noted that their pale skin almost seemed fake and…rubbery? But not one to judge, he didn’t say anything about it.

“I haven’t seen your face around here before, are you new?” he asked instead, for some reason he felt like he knew the figure standing before him.

The person before him, however, seemed frozen. They seemed to just be staring at Lance, as if he were a hallucination or something. Lance felt a chill rolling down his spine and he took a step back, offering a tight smile.

“Right, uh…I’m just gonna,” he proceeded to slowly move around the other, fingers pointing towards the door, “See ya,” he said, brushing past him, ignoring the way the other seemed to tense at his touch. As he opened the door, he cast a quick glance back to his friends and made a _this-guy-is-nuts_ face before saying bye one last time and leaving. It felt as though the brightness that Lance carried with him seemed to leave as well, and the bakery was awkwardly quiet, nothing but the dull sound of Christmas music playing in the background.

Hunk and Pidge stared at the stranger unsurely before glancing at each other and shrugging. The person before them seemed to come out of whatever shock he had been in and looked around, as though he wasn’t sure why he was here in the first place.

“Hello!” Hunk called out, gaining his attention, “Welcome to _Yellow Delights_ , anything I can get for ya?”

Behind the stranger, entered in a few more customers who kindly wished them a ‘ _Merry Christmas_ ’ before walking towards the display of treats. The stranger seemed tense but walked up to the counter regardless, their head down.

“Bathroom,” they said quietly, so quietly that Hunk had barely heard them.

“Pardon?” He asked, smiling.

“ _Bathroom_ ,” the stranger snapped back, louder this time. Hunk startled a moment before pointing towards a few doors a few feet away from the counter. The stranger said nothing and instead made their way towards the doors.

Hunk watched a moment before letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and met Pidge’s gaze, “Who on _earth_ are _they_?” Hunk said, “They feel so…”

“Intimidating?” Pidge finished. Hunk nodded, hugging himself.

Both of them were so caught up in their conversation that they failed to notice that the mystery stranger had wondered into the _Employees Only_ door and not the bathroom.

**\- - -**

Keith grimaced and growled to himself as he wondered the streets of the disgusted _Garrisonville_ , it wasn’t his perfect way of spending his day, but he figured the town was due for a visit from him. Even if they couldn’t see his face and body due to the hooded cloak he wore and cheesy Halloween mask he had managed to find in the trash near his home. But it was better to cause mischief in secrecy anyhow, plus he didn’t need the unwelcome attention of the people in this town, heaven knows that _that_ wouldn’t go down well.

He walked confidently, his dog Kosmo walking loyally at his side, making offhand rude comments to those who wished him a ‘ _Merry Christmas_ ’ and a blasted ‘ _Happy New Years_ ’. He nearly gagged when he was shown wreaths and decorations alike. And he snarled when one Christmas worker tried to keep him hostage until he bought a stupid chapeau _WHICH_ he didn’t, but still, what even was a chapeau?! Whatever, he had some more chaos to spread than to mull over some _probably_ fake thing that was no doubt created to just encourage these idiots to spend more money on pointless Christmas items. He turned to move when a car nearly ran him down. He growled.

“Watch it, idiot!” He shouted before looking down at his dog, “See this crap, Kosmo?” He huffed, glancing at his dog, who in turn promptly looked up, “The city is a dangerous place, nothing but idiots,” he grumbled. Then they both continued on their way.

Keith laughed quietly to himself as he gave a hacksaw that he found from a construction site to some kids who had been walking past him. Happily he gave it to them, urging them to run as fast as they could. If asked why he would do such a thing, he would simply tell you to get lost. After all, who are you to question his methods?

However, no one quite knew why Keith became the way he did. Distant, cold. Uncaring of other’s opinions and what happened to him. He had learned not to care long ago.

But angsty callouts aside, Keith did his best to remain unseen as he caused mischief. It was only fair that he disturbed the lives of the Garrisonville, since a rowdy bunch of kids decided to disturb his. Speaking of which, he had only a split second to gather himself as a crowd began swarming together out of nowhere, coming to see the latest drama as the rowdy bunch from earlier arrived into town, snow-covered and shivering.

He was hardly listening to the conversation that was no doubt about them and their visit to Mount Marmora, instead his eyes were looking to where he could spread his mischief.

“It was the Krinch!” One boy shouted, the word spreading like a wildfire as everyone started looking around in fear.

“The Krinch?!”

“The Krinch!”

Hearing his name that the town liked to use for him being spoken, he scowled and turned around, “What do you want?!” He snapped, before realizing the commotion and throwing his hands up, “I-I mean, the _Krinch?! Oh no_!” and then he ducked down out of sight, fast-walking to the nearest place of hiding he could find.

Which just so happened to be a small bakery shop, _Yellow Delights_.

He waited a moment before going in, looking towards the frightened crowd just in time to see the fricking _Mayor_ make his grand appearance to quell the crowd.

He cringed, face twisted in disgust as he realized it was _James Griffin_. Figures mister goody two-shoes would be put into that position. Rolling his eyes, he turned from the scene and decided to enter the shop where he’d probably sneak into the back and steal some cookies, probably mix up some recipes for the celebration that was sure to be coming up. He cackled to himself and snapped his fingers to alert Kosmo to stay close, “Better not let them catch you, buddy,” he said before opening the door to walk inside.

One thing Keith had not been expecting, or well _two_ things, was one: the delicious smell of baked goods floating around in the shop, like seriously, it was _Heavenly_. And two, was the red and white covered body that had crashed into him out of nowhere. He let out a small ‘ _oof_ ’, stumbling backwards before catching himself and taking notice of the hands pressed firmly against his chest.

“I am so sorry!” The person had said. Keith gritted his teeth, fully prepared to make a harsh retort, but the moment he snapped his eyes up, the words instantly curled up, shriveled, and _died_.

Because holy _frick_ , how could he not remember those beautiful ocean blue eyes staring at him? Those soft and kind eyes that looked at him with confusion and the barest hint of concern, framed by a head of dark brown hair that couldn’t decide if it wanted to stay straight or be curly. Keith had to take a slow breath, his heart beating almost too loudly in his chest. His fingers itched to touch the other in front of him, to cup his face in his hands to feel that familiar warmth beneath his hands.

“I haven’t seen your face around here before, are you new?” the person before him asked, his voice sounded way deeper than the last time Keith had seen him, but it was wonderfully pleasant to his ears.

And _crap_ , did the other remember him? If he were to show his face and-and speak would the other…would he recognize him? Keith’s heart constricted in his chest, and his lungs felt too tight. It was too much. Too much right now. Brief memories of long ago seemed to flash to the surface and Keith felt the air around him still. Small laughs, gentle touches, eyes meeting from across a classroom.

“Right, uh…I’m just gonna,” Keith watched almost in a haze as the other slowly moved around him, his fingers- _damn_ , had they always been that slender and long?-pointing towards the door, “See ya,” he said, his arm brushing gently against Keith’s, making him hold his breath and tense up. Then he was gone. As though he were never there.

It only hit Keith a second later that the other was wearing a _dress_. A dress that he looked really, _really_ good in. A dress that made sure to accentuate his curves in the right way and it just _barely_ stopped short of his lower thighs and left the rest of his long tan legs exposed. Keith gritted his teeth, shaking his head to clear his mind of the image that was trying to burn itself into his head.

“Hello!” A voice called out, making him look up, “Welcome to _Yellow Delights_ , anything I can get for ya?”

He rolled his eyes at the worker and made to walk towards the counter, but was stopped briefly from the newcomers coming in behind him. He had half hoped it was those familiar blue eyes again, but was let down by the chirpy voices that were back to wishing him a merry Christmas and blah blah. He grimaced, remembering his whole reason for being here and feeling angry at himself for letting himself feel those-ugh- _feelings_.

Ignoring his brief moment of weakness that was _strictly_ reserved for after hours, Keith pressed forward, Kosmo firmly at his side from under his cloak. Once he reached the counter, he made his demand. Then he hummed in irritation as he repeated himself louder this time. Once pointed in the right direction, he stalked off, making a beeline for the employees’ only door.

Once inside, he sighed and sagged against the door.

“Thank whoever lives up top,” he said, opening his cloak to let Kosmo out. He glanced around the area and noted all the pastries lined up and ready to be served. He licked his lips, removing the fake cheapy mask and sucking in a bout of fresh air. He walked over to the sweets and picked one out, it was a roll of some sort, covered with white icing and drizzled with thin strip of a red sauce. He sniffed it, making his stomach rumble, and it was all he needed before taking a bite and nearly groaning with ecstasy at the taste. Without another thought he shoved the rest of it into his mouth and grabbed another, then another.

Then another.

And another.

….and maybe just one more.

He was just about to scarf down the last one when he heard the voice of the worker from earlier talking loud. He turned, cheeks stuffed and icing coating his mouth. He swallowed before looking down at Kosmo who was licking up whatever Keith had dropped in his hunger-fueled state. Licking what he could off his fingers, Keith made a mad dash and grabbed Kosmo, holding him firmly in his arms as he looked wildly for a hiding space. His dog meanwhile looked up at him, his dark eyes curious as to what his owner was doing. Keith patted him quickly before looking up.

“Alright, pal,” Keith said with a smile, “Time to go up.”

**\- - -**

“Okay, so that’ll be two cherry jubilee rolls and a dozen sugar cookies,” Pidge said, ringing up the order, “That’ll ten-fifty.”

As she waited for the customer before her to fish out their money, she looked back at Hunk who had gone back to making new dishes, but still looking forlorn as before. She frowned, turning back to take the cash from the person in front of her and finishing her order. Once done, she looked back to her friend, hands on her hips.

“Are you still feeling bummed out?” She asked, squinting her eyes at him. Hunk made no comment. She sighed, “Dude, I think you’re looking too deep into this Christmas stuff. It’s not that deep. Why don’t we go do some Christmas shopping on our break, we can find new spices for your desserts and stuff.”

Hunk let out a deep breath, pouring the batter into its cupcake holders, “I-I don’t know dude. I think this whole Christmas shopping is part of the problem.”

Pidge scoffed, “Aw, don’t be ridiculous,” she joked, turning to assist the next person in line, “Nothing says Christmas spirit like surrounding yourself with Christmas stuff!”

“It’s true,” The customer, a lady with bright blonde hair said, “That’s why Garrisonville is so well known for being the best town to spend your vacation in for the Holidays!” She said, her light purple eyes sparkling. Pidge noted the uniform she wore and raised an eyebrow.

“An Altean Uniform? Aren’t you guys supposed to be patrolling the mayor right now?” She asked.

The officer in front of her blinked, then nodded, “Oh, yes!” She chirped, “But there’s been tell of a Krinch sighting around here, we’re on the lookout to escort him off the premises.”

“The Krinch?” Pidge gaped, “He’s here?!”

The officer nodded again, “Yes, but he’s very dangerous. So be on the lookout and if you see him, notify us immediately. And do not engage,” She said, her face serious for a moment before her bubbly smile returned once more as she eyed the cookies that were decorated like reindeers.

“Uh, yeah, I have a question,” Hunk said as he set the cupcakes to bake, “Who’s this Krinch guy?”

Both Pidge and the officer stared at him with shock.

“You don’t know the Krinch?” Pidge said, incredulously, “The _Krinch_? _The_ Krinch??” She repeated, as though that would ring a bell for her friend.

Hunk raised his hands in defense, “I never keep up with the current news, okay? It’s boring…”

“Unbelievable,” Pidge said, “You mean your parents never told you about him either?” Hunk shook his head.

“The Krinch is-,”

“A _bully_!” The cop interjected, “He’s a guy who’s uncaring and a jerk to everyone he comes in contact with. Not only that, but he hates everything joyful and fun. But he seems to hate Christmas the most! Can you believe that? The happiest time of the year, and he just wants to ruin it. Horrible!”

“Oh,” Hunk said, “So he’s like a grinch?”

“A what?”

“A grinch. You know a mean and unfriendly person?” He clarified, “Why don’t you just call him that? Makes better sense than Krinch,” he added with a shrug, “Just saying.”

“That’s stupid,” The officer responded, “He’s called Krinch for a reason, ya know,” she glanced at the eclairs on display next to the sugar cookies, “Supposedly his name starts with a ‘K’ and well, people just combined the two and got that.”

“Still…” Hunk mumbled, “…has he ever been invited to our celebrations?”

To that the officer laughed, “ _Invited_?” She snorted, “Of course not! If he were to show, he’d destroy everything.”

“Even for Christmas?”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” The officer frowned, “He _hates_ Christmas, wants nothing to do with it.”

Pidge rolled her eyes as she watched the officer shuffle from treat to treat, grabbing a box to prepare for the treats that the officer would no doubt request. Before she did however, the door swung open violently and in stepped another female cop, dressed in the same dark navy blue uniform as the former, with her white hair tied back in a bun, and her blue eyes looking around quickly before narrowing on the other officer.

“Officer Romelle!” She snapped, making the blonde one in front of Hunk and Pidge straighten up.

“Captain Allura!” Romelle responded back quickly.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

Romelle turned around, saluting her Captain, “Just buying some sweets, ma’am!”

Allura looked to Pidge and Hunk, walking over towards them, “Have you made these two aware of the Krinch problem?” She asked. Romelle nodded.

“Yes I did,” She said, “I already told them the protocol as well, so if they _do_ see him, they should notify us immediately.”

Allura nodded, seeming pleased, “Well done,” she looked to the other two, “She’ll be taking these sweets to go. Have a good day. And Merry Christmas!”

With that, she nodded one last time to Romelle before making her way out. Romelle watched for a few seconds before turning back to the counter, “So about those goods?”

“Right,” Pidge said.

“Be right back, Pidge,” Hunk said, “I need to get more dough from the back.”

“Alrighty-o!”

As Hunk made his way to the back cooking room, his train of thought was everywhere. Like, who was this Krinch guy? Did he really hate Christmas that much? Why would they call him Krinch for? If they called him a Krinch he’d be upset too…probably. Or he’d try to correct them. But regardless, he felt something in him stir at the thought of the Krinch being alone for Christmas. Ad not just a single Christmas, but _every_ Christmas. That had to have hurt him.

As he entered the backroom, he walked towards the small fridge with the fresh dough he had prepared from earlier, eyeing the large dough making conveyer belt with disdain-it was some baking tool Pidge had insisted on them making, telling him that all he needed to do was put the proper ingredients in it beforehand and push the red button on the side to make perfectly cut pieces of dough without the hassle. It was a great invention, he won’t lie, but it was shown to be testy a few times where he even the barest of touches would trigger it to turn on. He had mentioned it to Pidge a while back, but they had yet to fix it.

Moving past the machine, he spared a glance towards the shelves that held his pastries before looking away, suddenly, he paused. He looked again towards the shelves that had been filled with treats for the bakery. He froze, his signature cherry jubilee rolls were gone!

His hands flew to his face and he stared with horror, what kind of monster would do something like this? He walked towards the empty racks of what once had been filled to no end and he felt like he had been suckered punch. Those rolls were for the celebration Lance had made the invitations for! Now all that was left was drippings of jubilee and crumbs all over the area and Hunk felt sick to his stomach. It was like a starving man had entered the room and feasted on his precious cargo. As he looked at the floor, he found what looked to be a kid’s Halloween mask under his foot. He quirked an eyebrow, bending down to pick it up.

Then he heard a sneeze.

For a second he thought it was Pidge. Then,

“Gesundheit.” In a voice that most definitely was not Pidge.

He whirled around, eyes glancing around the room wildly before his gaze went up to the ceiling and his jaw dropped down as he looked up at the person hanging off of the corner on the ceiling. He screamed, earning a scream in reply which in turn made _him_ scream back and so forth before the stranger ended their moment by jumping down from their position, putting their dog down and glaring at Hunk.

The stranger was tall, broad shouldered, and his skin was _freaking purple_ with what looked like fur poking out and furry ears surrounded by dark black hair. He wasn’t an Atlas folk at all. In fact, Hunk was willing to bet that the stranger staring at him with pure hate was most definitely-

“Y-you-y-you’re-the-the-the-,”

“-the the the,” The other repeated in a mocking tone before snarling out, “The _Krinch_!”

Hunk jumped back with a yelp, walking backwards before feeling himself slip from the mess on the floor and landing on his back on the short part of the conveyer belt. He hardly registered the machine kicking on until he was moving and suddenly he had dough covering his body. He struggled a bit to get out, but the machine had chosen _that_ exact moment to completely go crazy and it began spitting out dough ball after dough ball at Hunk.

“Oh no,” he said, trying to move but feeling stuck in the growing mound around him and on him, “H-help! Oh geez, please, someone help!”

The Krinch watched from where he stood, seeming surprised but pleased with the turn of events. He gave a small whistle and turned to leave.

“Time to go Kosmo!” He said, but his dog let out a small bark in protest. His owner seemed surprised by that before frowning, “Kosmo, _now_.” But still the dog protested and he seemed to jerk his head back as a way of saying, _go help_ him!

The Krinch looked back at Hunk, watching him struggling in the dough for a moment before his panicking picked up again as the roller in the machine made itself known. The Krinch groaned, face dropping into a grimace.

“Oh for the love of-Bleeding Hearts of the World unite!” He growled before running full force at the machine and finding the switch to turn it off. Once he found it after wasting five seconds of muttering to himself, he reached into the opening of the machine and yanked Hunk out with his strength. He tossed the Garrisonville citizen down on the floor none too gently and wiped the excess dough off his hands. He forcefully reached down and grabbed his mask back from him.

“What the _heck_ is the matter with you?!” He shouted at a still in shock Hunk, “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not take what isn’t yours?! _Seriously_!” He sighed, irritation clearly seen on his face, “Kosmo! Let’s go!” He growled, stomping off towards the exit, mumbling about his schedule being thrown off or something.

Hunk blinked out of his daze, “Whoah…thanks for saving me dude,” he said breathlessly. The Krinch stopped immediately in his tracks, hands scraping slowly against the wood of the door. He turned around slowly, his countenance changed as he looked at Hunk with a strange look in his eyes. One glance at his dog told Hunk that maybe saying thank you wasn’t the best of choices.

“ _Saving_ you?” The Krinch echoed, a short laugh escaping his lips at the nod Hunk gave him, “Oh no, no.” He looked to his side and smiled deviously at the large rolls of fondant nearby, “I simply noticed you were lacking a _few_ decorations on you.”

Hunk’s smile slipped off his face completely as the other’s shadow loomed across him. He was left caught off guard as the Krinch jumped him.

**\- - -**

“Hey Hunk, are you okay? You’re kinda taking for,” Pidge halted in her steps, “ever.”

When she had walked into the backroom, she had not been expecting to see a mountain of colorful moving fondant in the center of the room. She moved closer, hearing faint muffled noises. She looked back at the fondant and noticed that it had a childish image of a smiley face on it. She began clawing the sugary layer off and huffed as she noted it was quite a _few_ layers indeed. But she finally managed to get to the person underneath.

Once Pidge had breached through the layers of fondant, Hunk wasted no time in sucking in deep puffs of air that wasn’t filled with sugar.

“Oh thank goodness!” He huffed, “Thank you Pidge, oh thank you!”

“Yeah, sure,” Pidge said, still surprised, “Listen Hunk, I get that you love food, but please don’t try to become one with it. We already tried that and it didn’t work.”

Hunk shook his head, “No, no it wasn’t me I swear-!”

“Hunk it’s okay dude, I won’t tell Lance,” Pidge said, “C’mon, let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Her friend nodded, deciding not to say anymore and instead following her out the door. He had to take a moment to pause because he couldn’t believe he had met the Krinch. He also couldn’t believe that the other seemed nice. Sure, he had trapped Hunk into a layer of fondant, but he had left a little opening for him to breathe air. And not only that, but he _did_ save him from the conveyer belt.

It seemed as though, to Hunk, that the Krinch may not have been so mean or bad as the public made him out to be. Perhaps he was actually nice, but just badly misunderstood!

After all, if the Krinch was so bad, why would he have saved him in the first place?

Whatever the case, Hunk knew the Krinch wasn’t bad. He was sure he was a great guy.

 

As he laid in bed that night, he decided that tomorrow he would do some sleuthing around, perhaps he’d catch a glimpse of just _who_ this Krinch really was. Because no one could be that mean right? Not unless they were trying to protect themselves. Or they were just really, really cruel.

Hunk silently wished (and hoped) it was the former.

**\- - -**

As Keith made is way to the garbage chute that would take him home, he had to stay near the shadows. It seemed that poor old James didn’t feel safe roaming the streets with him around. He scoffed, wishing he could stick around a little longer to tell the man to suck it.

But it was getting late, and he already felt drained from the social interacting he had to do. Not to mention but he was also getting hungry. Oddly enough, he found him craving for more of those sweets he had eaten earlier. He laughed at the thought, remembering the pure look of horror etched on the baker’s face. It was priceless!

Moving past the thought, he opened the hatch to Mount Marmora. He watched Kosmo prepare to jump in and he cleared his throat sharply, glaring at his, “Excuse you,” he huffed, “Fleas before beauty!”

Kosmo let out a small snuff and sat back down, allowing Keith to enter first before jumping in after him. Then, Keith banged the chute button hard and closed the hatch, the chute immediately sending them off to their home.

Upon landing, they were followed by another load of trash. A load of the trash that smelled just awful. Keith picked up one of the bags, noting the hazard warning it carried. He broke out into a grin.

“Oh, we’ve hit the jackpot today, Kosmo,” He said, standing up and grabbing two bags and then promptly instructed Kosmo to grab a bag as well, “Let’s go! You can back later to get the rest,” he said, already walking back to the entrance of their home.

Keith’s home was nothing short of…picturesque to say the least. To him, it was amazing. It was filled with various things he had created from the junk he was able to find. And over the years it became a sort of playground like structure for him. After all, his home was _inside_ of a mountain, he needed some sort of way to get from one spot to the other.

Walking inside his home, he felt himself finally relax, the day’s events washing away as he took off his cloak and tossed it somewhere. Placing the toxic sludge he had onto a catapult, he pulled a lever and watched as it launched across the cavern in his home and squarely hit an old campaign photo of the mayor. He grinned proudly before turning his attention to the main entrance of his home.

After the sludge had done its thing with moving through a pipe to add fuel to his furnace, his home was immediately lit with an eerie green light around. He sighed, inhaling deeply before letting it out quickly.

He walked towards his changing area and pulled on an old beat-up robe that had by far seen better days, “You know, Kosmo. Today wasn’t such a bad day,” He said, ducking behind his rustic partition screen, “We managed to ruin some lives and if all goes well and we’re lucky, the poor baker kid might just be scarred for life!” He laughed a moment before doubling over in pain, clutching at his chest where his heart was and stumbling forward. Once past the screen, he straightened out, seeming as though nothing had happened to him.

“I’m surprised he didn’t call the cops on us actually,” Keith said, continuing his conversation, “’course he just be scared we might make counterattack,” he shrugged. Kosmo watched as he fiddled with his x-ray machine and held it close to his chest. Keith looked at his heart, listening to the rhythmic beating for a moment before grinning madly, letting out a noise of triumph.

“It’s down a size and a half!” He said, then turned the machine off, walking away once again. As he rounded a corner, he swirled around on his heels, looking down at Kosmo and waving his hand as though he were holding something, “Oh, you want the stick Kosmo?” He said, voice holding an excited lilt, “Want the stick? Huh? Do you want it?” Kosmo’s tell wagged excitedly and he barked, “Go get it!” Keith said, throwing out nothing. He watched as his dog immediately darted off in the direction of where the supposed “stick” was and Keith couldn’t help but laugh.

“There was no stick,” he said, “I’m smarter!”

Deciding that he was suddenly bored, Keith wandered towards what would be deemed as a living room in his house and he flopped down onto his E-Z chair. He sighed, singing a random song to himself as he pulled off his socks. And only once he had grabbed a nearby glass bottle from the side of his chair and take a bite from it, did he allow his mind to rest.

He wasn’t lying when he said he felt drained from social interaction. It was partly why he never went out of his cave much unless he _absolutely_ had to-or with special occasions such as today. But as sat in his chair, he felt like a weight was added to his shoulders. The adrenaline he felt from causing mayhem and scaring people was wearing off, and all that was left was the empty hole in his chest. Which he had hoped would be gone since _technically_ his heart was nearly non-existent, but semantics and stuff.

He sighed again, biting into the glass bottle he held and staring up at the ceiling. Sometimes it was the quiet moments like these that had him thinking, and not in a good way. Moments like these would cause him to remember stuff he didn’t want to remember, or think of things he didn’t want to acknowledge. In a fit of anger and having a small burst of energy he didn’t know what to do with, he broke the bottle and shoved as much of the glass as he could into his mouth. And then he sank back into his chair, curling up and still covered in left over glass shards.

Try as he might, in the moments like these, Keith couldn’t deny that the silence was a far greater burden than he would think on a good day.

But the silence was okay, in fact it was _good_.

Because it meant he was safe from the words others would throw at him.

He just wished it also meant that he was safe from words his brain would throw at him too.

**\- - -**

“So, you want to know about the Krinch, hm?”

Hunk sat in the seat in front of Romelle’s desk, watching as she plucked back and forth from different files, “Yes,” Hunk said, “I’d to like to talk to some of the people who were close to him. Friends maybe,” he paused at Romelle’s small snort.

“ _Friends_ ,” she snickered, “Right.”

“O-or relatives? An aunt maybe? Or a brother? Or I don’t know,” he said, “I’m just spit-balling here, but uh, maybe his parents?”

Romelle paused, looking up from her paperwork, “How old did you say you were?”

“Uuh…what age do you want me to be?” He countered, mentally cringing.

Romelle rolled her eyes again, “Listen, I’ve got to finish up this case I have so I’ll just tell you what I know. He’s got two dads who live over on Santos Lane, house number 4509. You can go talk with them,” She said. Hunk grinned.

“Awesome! Thanks so much Romelle!”

“That’s _Officer_ Romelle, kid!” She shot back. Hunk nodded.

“Of course! Thank you Officer Romelle!” And then he was gone, making his way as quick as he could to the address he had been given.

Upon arriving, Hunk noted that it was a quaint home. It was a one story, light brown with the roof covered over with snow. As he walked up the door, he noted that whoever lived really like cats. He knocked three times, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet and humming a random Christmas tune. The first try, there wasn’t any answer. So he tried again, louder this time.

Almost immediately the door opened and he was greeted with the irritated expression.

“Can’t you kids knock _one time_?” A deep voice snapped. Hunk blinked, looking up to come face to face with a man who looked to be in his early forties, his hair was a surprising white despite him not being elderly, and he seemed to have a scar along his nose.

“Uh, sorry,” he said, waving awkwardly. Suddenly another man appeared by the first one’s side. This man was a few inches shorter, and he had brown hair and tan skin.

“Takashi who is-oh, hello there! Are you here to read us a story?” The second man asked.

Hunk chuckled awkwardly and shook his head, “Uh, actually no. Word on the street is that you guys have some info on the Krinch,” he said, leaning forward, his hand on the side of his mouth like he was hiding a secret.

“The Krinch?”

“What street?”

“Is someone talking _bad_ about our baby?!”

Hunk immediately raised his hands up and waved them about wildly, “No, no! _No_!” He said reassuringly, “I’m just here out of curiosity is all.”

“Curiosity?” The first one-Takashi apparently-bent forward, meeting Hunk’s gaze levelly, “Is someone paying you?”

“NO! I swear!” Hunk said, “I just…want to know who the Krinch is.”

“Why?” Both parents asked.

Hunk sighed, “Because I don’t think he’s as bad as he appears. I actually think he’s good! And I want to be able to prove that.”

Takashi and the other man shared a look before smiling down at Hunk and opening their door a little wide, “Well in that case, come on in,” Takashi said, “Just take your shoes off first. We just cleaned.”

“Got it, thank you,” Hunk smiled. He entered the home, removing his shoes as instructed. He noted the place smelled like gingerbread. He was lead to the living room. He took note of the pictures hanging around, some of cats, some of the two men together along with their wedding picture, and a majority-he noted-was of the Krinch throughout various different ages of his life.

“So, the Krinch,” The second man said, “You know he has an actual name right? I don’t understand why they insist on that cruddy nickname.”

“Adam,” Takashi said, “I don’t think we should share his name with anyone. The Krinch doesn’t need any more drama on his plate.”

Adam sighed, picking up his knitting needles beside him, “I know,” he said, frowning, “But I don’t like it.”

“It can’t be helped,” Takashi said.

“Mr. Takashi, sir, uh,” Hunk said, “With all due respect what can you tell me about the Krinch?”

Takashi chuckled, “Just Shiro is fine,” he sighed, “And well, I guess for starters I should say that the Krinch was no easy child.”

“Then again, what child is?” Adam commented with a teasing smile. Shiro chuckled.

“True, but he was a difficult kid,” Shiro sighed, “Not difficult in a bad way. But just…complicated. The Krinch was far from a normal child, as you can see in the pictures we’re not really sure what he is. But we loved him from the very moment he came to us,” he said, smiling softly, “He was very strange though. When he came to us, it was Christmas Eve and we were having our annual get-together,” He said, “It’s always a crazy shin-dig with our relatives, so we hardly knew he was out there until it was morning. But, as soon as we brought him in and got him warmed up, we knew he was special.”

**\- - -**

When Shiro woke up on Christmas morning, it wasn’t by the sound of his alarm. He groaned blearily as he blinked his eyes several times to rid them of sleep. He looked around, noting the messiness in the room around him. His clothes were strewn about and one quick glance at his husband was enough to confirm that his clothes were laying on the floor somewhere as well. He chuckled, before his thoughts were taken back to that faint noise. The harder he listened, the more he realized it sounded a lot like a baby crying.

He was up in a flash, jostling the bed in the process and disturbing his husband’s slumber.

“Mmf, Shiro?” Adam said, voice laced with tiredness, “What’s wrong?”

“I hear a baby,” Shiro replied back, putting on whatever clothing he could find.

“A baby?” Adam said, more alert.

Wasting no time. And decently clothed, they both rushed to the front door. Opening it, they found the crying got louder and Adam let out a small “aw” as they both saw a baby blue basket in the tree. Shiro reached up to pull it from the tree so they could look at the child inside. But before they did, there was a handwritten note on it. An unusual thing to happen in Garrisonville.

“What’s it say?” Adam asked. Shiro licked is lips before reading it.

“Greetings, we are elated to come upon your home with this child to leave in your care. After reviewing your application for adopting, we’ve set you up with your best match possible. This little boy was found in his crib by firemen who had arrived at his house under the notification of a fire. Unfortunately, both parental parties did not survive, and no one has claimed him. We hope you love this child as your own. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - Montgomery Agencies.

“Shiro,” Adam said, giddily, as they peered into the baby basket, “Look at him!”

And he did, and for a moment, both were taken aback by the child’s strange looks. For one thing, he was _purple_ all over, and another thing, he had what appeared to be fur on almost every inch of him, but his face. They were able to see his beautiful indigo eyes, and their hearts both melted when he smiled, seemingly happy to have someone answer his frightened cries.

“Shiro, it’s our son,” Adam crooned, reaching to touch the little baby, “Hello,” he cooed, “Hello there.”

“He’s beautiful,” Shiro said breathlessly, and both parents turned to step inside their house to officially welcome their young one.

Though, the older the Krinch got, they both noticed that he was quite…unusual. He wasn’t as taken to the Christmas holiday spirit like almost all the town was, and he was also a lot rougher than most kids too. Which Shiro said it was just a normal boy thing, but Adam replied back with a, “ _It isn’t normal when they start growling and biting people!_ ”

Another thing they singled out, was that as a toddler, he had a very peculiar diet. He ate normal food, but he also seemed to sneak in garbage, and rotten vegetables and fruits, and onions (he had a thing for onions, it was weird), and also glass bottles, porcelain plates (his favorite), glass vases-glass. Just anything glass he would take.

And they found this out when they offered him cookies once. Cookies that were resting just on top a Santa plate.

“Hello, my little one,” Adam said, “Would you like some Christmas cookies?”

Shiro held out the plate with said cookies, and smiled as the Krinch looked over them. He eyed them for a moment before pointing to the plate itself.

“Santa!” He chirped. Shiro and Adam burst into bright smiles.

“Yes, it is a Santa plate!” Shiro said, rubbing his head, “Do you want to hold it?” He asked, as the small toddler reached for it. As he held it out to him, both parents were caught off guard as they watched their child _fricking eat the plate with his mouth_. They gaped, eyeing him with shock and looking back at each other.

“What the _fuck_?” Shiro whispered under his breath.

“Santa bye-bye!” The Krinch chortled carelessly, still chewing on the piece of plate in his mouth.

**\- - -**

“I lost a lot of plates in the process though,” Adam griped, but he was smiling, “He was particular fond of my Christmas collections too.”

“Yeah,” Shiro sighed, “He was.”

Hunk smiled at the reminiscing parents for a moment before clearing his throat, “Was there anyone else he knew growing up? Like friends?”

Shiro and Adam shared a look.

“Well no,” Shiro said.

“But there was that one kid he particularly liked,” Adam pointed out, “You know, the one he made the gift for?”

“Oh yeah,” Shiro said, “What was his name again? Lacer? Taylor?”

“It was Lance, Takashi,” Adam responded, rolling his eyes and still knitting, “Lance McClain, I believe."

Hunk’s eyes went huge, “ _Lance_? He liked Lance?” He repeated, “Like Lance as in the mayor’s boyfriend, _Lance_?”

Shiro looked back at Hunk, “Oh, they’re dating? I just thought they wanted to live out the taboo cliché. Huh. Good for them. Right hun?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So it _is_ that Lance?”

“Yes, do you know him?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, I’ve known him since I was ten. He always came by my parents shop to buy desserts for his family. But we’ve been best friends since then.”

“Well, I’d suggest you talk to him as well, he and the Krinch occasionally worked on school projects together and hung out.”

“Thanks,” Hunk said, “I will.”

And he did, after thanking Shiro and Adam for the kindness and hospitality, Hunk left to go talk to Lance.

“Hey ya, Hunk,” Lance greeted, opening the door to his house, he was wearing a dark blue robe and slippers, clearly treasure his day off, “What brings you here?” He asked. Hunk had been to Lance’s house quite a few times, but it still left him feeling underdressed with how expensive most of the items in his friend’s house was.

Hunk took a seat on Lance’s fluffy couch, sighing at the softness of it, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Lance poured them both some hot chocolate and hummed, “Yeah, sure. About what?” He asked, bringing his mug to his lips.

“The Krinch.”

Lance nearly choked on his drink, he made a strangled noise, quickly putting his mug down and coughing, “W-what?” He choked out, “Why would you talk to me about that? _How_ do you even know about that? What makes you think I know anything? I should probably go get a napkin!”

He made to stand but Hunk urged him to stay sitting, “Lance,” he said, “Please? I already talked to his parents.”

His friend continued to stare at him, and Hunk could tell he was shaking slightly, “The Krinch,” Lance repeated.

“Uh huh.”

Lance sat stiffly in is seat, looking down at his knees before looking back up, a strange look in eyes, “Well I’ll tell you one thing,” he said, “He had no sense of hair style. Seriously, the guy had a _mullet_. Very tragic.” He told Hunk, as if it mattered much, “But I can’t really tell you much,” he said with a shrug, “I have very few memories of him. We only worked on school projects together on and off, and he wasn’t much of a friend so much as a rival,” he added.

“But you knew him?”

“Well sure. But hardly. I was too busy…studying to _really_ notice him.

**\- - -**

The first time Lance every laid eyes on the Krinch, he had been unable to ever since. Any chance and any moment was spent looking at him with a burning feeling in his chest and his heart kicking into overdrive.

Since that moment, he had taken every chance he could get to spend time with him. He made it a goal to talk to him at _least_ once a day. And it worked. In fact, sometimes it would be the _Krinch_ who’d approach him first, his eyes looking down shyly at the floor and his hands behind his back. He’d always give Lance a compliment of some sort, most times it was about his eyes and how they looked in the lighting and in general.

It was both endearing and sweet and left Lance a blushing mess after their encounters. He’d imagine their future together, imagining him and Keith holding hands, going on dates, getting married (that one was his _favorite_ daydream! He’d always imagine the Krinch being the one to propose to him) having a family, basically the whole nine yards of which an eight year old could imagine.

With what he imagined was love, Lance had decided to drop a hint to the Krinch, to let him know and to hopefully know that he felt the same. Which he must have because Lance still had the small daisy Keith had given him while they were working as a group together.

**\- - -**

“D-did I have a crush on him, the Krinch? Of course, _not_!” Lance said, folding his arms over his chest, chuckling nervously, “I barely _liked_ the guy let alone even _loved_ him, psh. That’s-that’s _crazy_ talk right there, Hunk. Why would you even ask that?”

“I never asked that.”

“-Or _assume_ that? You know what they say about assuming,” Lance continued to ramble on, “If you assume you make an a-,”

“Lance, I just told you I never asked that,” Hunk repeated louder. Lance clamped his mouth shut.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“R-right, uh…where was I at?”

**\- - -**

But of course not everything in life was a true fairytale. And Lance got his firsthand experience at that tragic lesson.

It had been a day before their Christmas party, and their teacher Mr. Wimbleton, a man who was most infamous for his majestic mustache, announced that for the party, they were to bring a special gift for a special someone. Naturally, Lance looked to the Krinch, who in turn seemed to scoff and shake his head at the ridiculousness of it before meeting the piercing gaze of Lance. They stayed staring at each other for a while, Lance smiling and occasionally snacking on his lollipop, and the Krinch, just staring with wide indigo eyes, a small smile of his own appearing on his face.

Unbeknownst to either of them, there was a third party member looking, their blue-greyish eyes watching the scene with heated jealousy.

**\- - -**

“Oh yes, I knew the Krinch back when he was still around,” Mayor Griffin said, “I even tried to take him under my wing, but,” he sighed, holding his arm to reveal a large, faded scar, “He just wasn’t like us.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure he had some good in him, right?” Hunk asked, shaking his head as a person offered him some hot chocolate to drink. James sighed.

“I don’t really like talking about this with our celebration just around the corner,” James said, “But I suppose as the mayor it is my job to help everyone. And if this will help you to better understand just _why_ we don’t allow the Krinch to join us, then so be it.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course. Now, for starters. The Krinch was very hairy, he shed,” James said, a look of disgust on his face, “Not pleasant. And well, it was obvious he had a crush on Lance,” he paused and met Hunk’s gaze with a seriousness that had him gulping, “One thing to note, is that Lance was _my_ boyfriend.”

**\- - -**

 

As soon as class was dismissed, Lance stayed sitting in his seat, merely only watching the Krinch and waiting for him to approach his desk. Which didn’t take long, within seconds he was there, peering down at him with those indigo eyes and Lance looking back up with his ocean blue ones.

“Hello,” He breathed, giving a perfectly sweet smile. The Krinch seemed to gulp at that, his lips drawn tightly together and a firm blush on his face.

“H-hi,” The Krinch managed.

“Are you excited for tomorrow?” Lance asked, sighing dreamily, “I just love Christmas time, don’t you?”

It seemed as though the Krinch was bothered by his words, his mouth twitching downwards for the briefest of seconds.

“I also love the colors,” Lance added, “The red,” he hummed, reaching out to gently touch the Krinch’s cheek, making him breathe in heavily, “And the purple.”

There was another moment where they just stared at each other, captivated by each other’s eyes with Lance’s hand still resting lightly against the Krinch’s face. Then all too soon, it was over and Lance began to gather his things.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked. The Krinch nodded.

“Y-yeah.”

Satisfied, Lance pressed one chaste kiss to the Krinch’s cheek before moving past him to leave the classroom.

The Krinch felt excited, his heart thrumming and beating madly against his chest. As he finished packing his things, he made to leave. But he was blocked. He raised his eyebrows in confusion.

“Can I help you?” He asked, meeting James’ eyes evenly.

“You know you have no chance with him right?” He said, “Everyone knows about your real parents,” he added, “You think Lance will ever want to be with someone whose own parents killed themselves to leave you by fire? If they didn’t want stay, what makes you think he will?”

The Krinch felt his heart deflate, and his anger flare up. He bared his teeth angrily, “Shut up!” he said, “You don’t know anything! _My_ parents love me!”

“Oh yeah? Is that what you tell yourself at night to forget that your actual mommy and daddy hated y-!”

“ARGH!” The Krinch roared as he ran full-speed and knocked James down. He pinned him down with his hips and started hitting him, “Shut up! Shut up! _Shut up! Shut up_!” He yelled, baring his teeth and growling. James did the same and kicked at the Krinch to shove him off, using his hands hold the other’s hands back. But it didn’t last as the Krinch bared his teeth again, this time revealing sharp teeth and biting _hard_ into James’ hand. The latter let out a scream, and pretty soon there was a crowd of both kids and teachers alike entering the room and prying the two boys apart.

“Krinch! Let _go_!” One man said, prying the said kid off of James.

It was a gruesome struggle, but they managed. The Krinch was huffing and breathing harshly, fresh tears leaking down the side of his face as he stared darkly at James. The other was cradling his bleeding arm.

“Have Mr. Griffin escorted to the nurse’s office,” Principle Iverson said, letting go of the Krinch but still holding tightly to his arm, “Alert Mr. Shirogane’s parents and notify them on what has happened. We will _not_ tolerate this sort of behavior on Kaltenecker premises.”

The Krinch tugged to have his arm free, and Principle Iverson let him go.

“Have a seat Mr. Shirogane,” Iverson demanded. The Krinch did so, glaring daggers at the man. He looked towards the doorway and spotted Lance there, his blue eyes blown wide at the sight. The Krinch could imagine why he would look at him that way, after all, he was scuffed up and disheveled, and there was no doubt blood near his lips form biting James’ arm. The Krinch looked away, ashamed for what he’d done.

The rest that had happened after that was a blur, there was serious talking between his Principle and his parents. But his mind was swimming to Lance’s face, the concern in his eyes as well as the shock. He felt his ears droop down and he hugged his knees closer to his chest, He’d have to show Lance that what he did was an accident, and that he hadn’t meant to lose control. He didn’t want Lance to be scared of him that was _the last thing_ he wanted to happen.

He had to show Lance that he could trust him!

“Krinch,” His father’s voice, Shiro, cut through to him, “Did you hear what Principle Iverson said?”

He shook his head, not quite feeling ready to use his voice.

“Krinch, you’ve been suspended,” His dad, Adam, said quietly.

“Suspended?” He repeated.

“Yes, you won’t be coming to school for a while,” His dad explained.

“Will I be here tomorrow?”

“No,” Iverson said, “Your suspension starts, effective immediately.”

Keith felt his heart sink and panic set in, “No,” he said, spring up in his seat, “No I _have_ to come tomorrow! Please!” He said, eyes beginning to water.

“I’m sorry Krinch, but this is your punishment.”

“No, _no_!” He said, “Just let me come for my last block! Please! I have to come! I have to-I- _please_ ,” he begged, his voice cracking, “It’s important. Please. I’ll be good. I will.” He looked to Shiro and Adam, “Dad, daddy,” he said desperately, ears folding back against his head, “I’ll be good, _please, please_.”

Both fathers looked torn at their child’s tears. They turned back to Iverson.

“Principle Iverson,” Shiro said, “Just let him attend his last class one more time, I assure you he will be on his _best_ behavior, right Krinch?”

The Krinch nodded, looking at his Principle, “I will! I’ll be the best kid! I promise!”

His Principle sighed, running a hand down his face, “Fine, _alright_ ,” he said, “But I’ll be in here to keep an eye on him. If he steps out of line at any point in time, he goes home.”

“Deal.”

**-**

Once they reached home, the Krinch immediately ran out of the car, ignoring the words of his parents who were calling him to wait. But he couldn’t. He had to start working on Lance’s present! Before he reached the front door, a strong tan arm yanked him back.

“Whoah there, buddy, what’s got you wound up?” Adam asked him, “You’re still not off the hook, Krinch, we need to talk to you about this biting thing.”

Once the front door was unlocked, the family stepped in, dragging a begrudging Krinch along as they walked towards the dining table. He took a seat and placed his arms on the table, head resting in them and pouting. Adam walked into the kitchen to get something and walked out with a wet towel in hand. He gently eased the Krinch’s head up and began wiping at his face where blood coated it.

“Krinch, want to tell us what happened?” Shiro asked, leaning against the doorway of the dining room.

The Krinch sighed, pulling his head out of his dad’s hand and away from the wet towel, “James was the one who started it,” he said, breathing heavily, “He told me my parents didn’t love me.”

Adam scoffed, “You know that wasn’t true, of course we love you,” he said. The Krinch scowled.

“No…my _real_ parents,” he said, eyes watering, Shiro and Adam froze, looking at each other and unsure of what to do in this situation, “He said-he said they killed themselves because they didn’t want to be with me…and that Lance wouldn’t want to be with me either…”

“Oh Krinch,” Shiro said softly.

“That’s not true, is it?” Their child asked, “No one’s going to die to leave me are they?”

“Oh, oh baby,” Adam crooned, wrapping his arms around their son. Shiro walked over and knelt down at the Krinch’s other side, hugging him tightly, “No, Krinch. No one’s going to do that.”

“Yeah, you’re going to be great and wonderful, and your partner is going to love you unconditionally,” Shiro said. The Krinch sniffled, basking in the safety of his parents arms.

“Promise?” He asked.

“Promise,” both parents said.

**-**

With confidence renewed, the Krinch set out to making Lance’s gift. He knew that the boy loved the color blue, and he loved glitter, and he loved sharks.

And then it hit him. And he got a wonderful idea. But first, he needed his dad’s help with making it.

**-**

Come the time for the Christmas party at his school, the Krinch was bouncing with nervousness. He had been waiting for this moment since last night when he and his parents managed to finish Lance’s gift, the Krinch of course did most of the work he could, insisting that the gift would only count as made from him if he did the majority of it. Even if that meant having a few bandages cover his fingers.

As the party and gift-giving began, the Krinch stayed frozen in his seat, keeping himself hidden. He was so nervous! What if Lance hated his gift? What if he was too scared of him that he won’t let him come close? He swallowed, sucking in a deep breath to calm himself down like his dad had showed him to.

“Alright kiddos!” Mr. Wimbleton’s voice chirped, “Class is almost over. Has everyone given their gifts to their special someone yet?”

The Krinch nearly broke into a panic again. Class was almost over already?! No, no! It can’t be! He stood up abruptly.

“Wait! I haven’t!” He said, pulling out the brightly colored bag he kept hidden, “This is for you Lance!” He said, making his way towards the other boy. Almost immediately his vision was blocked and Lance was no longer in his sights. He looked up to see James again, along with some of his other friends. He tensed, glancing around the room and remembering that Principle Iverson had to step out to handle some things.

“Oh no you don’t,” James said, folding his arms over his chest, “You’re not allowed to go near Lance anymore.”

“What?” The Krinch asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Lance saw that display yesterday, _Krinch_ ,” He spat, holding out his bandaged arm, “He knows what he did.”

“B-but I’d never do that to him,” he said, trying to peek around James. He saw Lance briefly whispering something to a girl next to him, and for a split second they both made eye contact. The Krinch looked at Lance imploringly, pleading with him to talk to him. But then James was back in his face, blocking him.

“Hey? Are you dumb or something?” James snapped, “He doesn’t want to talk to you, and he wouldn’t want your cheap gift anyways.”

The Krinch glared at him, “It’s not cheap!” he snapped, reaching into the bag to pull out the gift he made, “I _made_ it for him!” He shouted, revealing a small blue stuffed shark that was both semi-sewed properly and lopsided. He accidentally sewed the tail a little too high and he may have put too much stuffing in the front, but other than that it wasn’t bad. There were two small black buttons for eyes on the side of its head. And along the body, on either side, were two names that were stitched in with a beautiful glittery thread; his name and Lance’s.

At some point Lance had moved closer, peeking over James’ shoulder to look at the gift, his blue eyes widened in admiration, and the Krinch wanted to do nothing more than hand it to him. But he never got the chance to because suddenly his gift for Lance was on the ground, and he was being shoved back.

“I told you, _Lance_ doesn’t want to talk to you,” James’ said in a low voice so that only Keith could hear him, “You don’t even like Christmas,” he said, “What makes you think anyone will ever want to celebrate it with you, _freak_.”

The Krinch squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his anger flare and this time, it wasn’t for James. This time it was for this damned Holiday. This one day a year that always _inspired_ hope but left you high and dry when it mattered most. This one _fricking day_ where everyone keeps shutting him out. Leaving him alone. Cold. Unwanted.

To everyone he’d just be the monster, the freak.

The _Krinch_.

He felt himself give in to defeat, his soul crushed and his heart broken.

He stood up, opening his eyes slowly. Everyone gasped around him.

“Look at his eyes!” they whispered.

“They’re yellow!” they gasped.

“His pupils look just like a monster’s!” they shouted.

And the Krinch soaked it in, allowing his hatred and anger to grow.

“ _STUPID PRESENT_!” He shouted, stopping on the beloved shark he had spent so much time working on. He turned and looked at the tree, looking at the lights that seemed to taunt him with the hope and joy he’d never be able to have.

“Stupid tree!” And with all the strength he could muster he lifted it high into the air with a dark growl, “I _HATE_ CHRISTMAS! _”_ And with that final outburst, he threw it across the room, scaring almost all the students as they ducked to avoid getting hit. His teacher even seemed shocked by the display, and at the sign of a fire, he quickly ushered his students out.

The Krinch looked at the wreckage in front of him, and then his eyes flew to the one person who remained standing.

Lance stared at him, but not with fear. With hurt, and pain. But it wasn’t for himself, it was for _him_ , The Krinch.

“Ke-,”

“ _Don’t_ ,” The Krinch said, then he shrugged helplessly and ran off, filled with just this _need_ , this desire to just get away! To leave and never turn back, to go someplace where he’ll never feel this shame, this _hate_ , this-this. Hurt.

Back in the classroom, Lance knelt down on the floor, eyes flickering over the destroyed remains of the gift meant for him. He picked it up gently, feeling tears sting at his eyes. He turned back to look out the door of where the boy he loved had run out.

Not knowing if, or when, he would ever come back.

**\- - -**

“It hurt to watch,” Lance said solemnly, his eyes looking past Hunk to a glass casing sitting on a small table, inside was a tattered stuffed shark. One of the black button eyes were missing, but the names etched into it were still brightly shining against its darkened blue fabric.

“They were so cruel to him,” Lance continued on, “ _I_ …was cruel to him.” He felt his eyes stinging from unshed tears, “It was a horrible day. I could hardly bear it.”

“I’m sorry,” Hunk said. Lance let out a watery laugh, turning his head to look out the window. If anyone had been sitting beside him, they would see that through his window, he got a perfect view of Mount Marmora.

“It was last time we all saw him,” He sighed, “The very last time.”

**\- - -**

_So, as one could see,_

_Whatever the reason that may be..._

_…Whether his heart or his soul…_

_…he stood outside in the cold…_

_…hating the Garrisonville folks down below._

 

“Alphabetically,” He growled, revealing the latest Garrisonville telephone book, “Acxa Abken,” he read then turned towards the town, “I _HATE_ YOU! _”_

“Alfor Altea, don’t know you, but I hate you too,” he read over the list of the names, continuing to hate the farther he went, “Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate, _double_ hate,” he paused, eyes darkening and mouth curling into a scowl, “ _Loather entirely_!” He snapped the book shut, distracted by the current commotion happening in town. He squinted his eyes, “Nutcrackers?” He said, then it clicked and he nearly groaned in irritation, “It’s their Garrison Celebration,” he cried. Squeezing the book in his hand tightly.

“Tomorrow’s Christmas!” He gasped with fear, “It’s practically here!”

He turned around, eyes wide as he ran for the cave immediately, “Kosmo!” He cried out, “Fetch me my sedative!” He did not want to be conscious when their melodies started to play.

Taking the wooden bat from Kosmo’s mouth, he held it in front of him, “This’ll take care of those pesky memories,” he muttered, before bringing the bat down full force and hard onto his head, making everything go black.

**\- - -**

Inside of _Yellow Delights_ , all of Hunk’s family were buzzing with excitement for the celebration that would be starting soon.

“Hunk, make sure all the eclairs are packed and stored! We want everyone to have a bite!” His mom called from the kitchen.

“Yes mom!” Hunk shouted back, going back to counting the eclairs to make sure none were missing.

After talking with the few people from town who knew the Krinch-even the mayor, although Hunk found his words to be more condescending than helpful, so he didn’t include him much-he found that there was more tragedy to the person living up in that mountain all by himself. It was heartbreaking to say the least, listening to Shiro and Adam’s sad voices as they told him everything about their son, it was evident in their eyes and voices that they missed him terribly and that these past years had not been kind to either them. And then listening to Lance recalling the fall and everything that lead up to it, tore at his heart.

He had to wonder if this is what these townsfolk mean when they say Christmas spirit. Is it really just about rejecting those who can hardly feel it?

Is it really about hurting them and casting them out? Making them storm off in anger with nothing left to shout?

He also kind of wished he knew what this whole rhyming thing was about.

Because seriously, brain, it’s annoying.

Shaking his head from the thoughts that were plaguing him, he focused back to counting the eclairs and sighed. He just wished that more people were on the Krinch’s side.

_Darn it, brain!_

**\- - -**

Hunk walked alongside Pidge as they made their way to the town square. Normally Lance would be right by their side, but for these types of celebrations, he had to be standing next to the higher ups. Hunk groaned, earning Pidge’s attention.

“Something wrong?” She asked. Hunk frowned.

“Yeah, I can’t seem to get my brain to stop rhyming things,” he grumbled back.

“That’s…weird.”

“Tell me about it,” He muttered.

“So why aren’t you up there helping your parents prepare the dessert section?” She asked. Hunk stretched lightly, pulling at the collar of his button up shirt.

“My mom insisted that joining in the festivities this year might help with my slump.”

“Oh, still feeling it?” Pidge asked.

“Yup,” he said, “But I feel like I can almost see the answer, it’s just…not quite there yet.” Pidge raised a single eyebrow.

“Uh huh,” She said, “So what have you been doing for your little soul searching thing?”

“I’ve been trying to learn more about the Krinch,” he said, “You won’t believe the intense backstory he has,” he added, eyes wide, “It’s crazy.”

“Right,” Pidge said, “That sounds like the most reasonable thing to do on your little mission here,” she said, fixing her glasses, “But at least your parents aren’t going overboard with the whole Christmas lights competition,” she said, “Mine are really… _really_ extreme.”

She glanced behind to see her mom chattering excitedly about a traffic light she was holding, no doubt wanting to add it to their already-brighter-than-the-fricking-sun house. A short moment later, there was the sound of tires squealing, people shouting, and the sound of a crash. She groaned, hiding her face in her hand.

“So _extreme_ ,” She said, cursing her luck. Hunk placed a friendly hand on his friend’s back and gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Pidge,” he said, “I don’t mean to change the subject. But I’ve been thinking about this celebration for a while…and quite frankly, I think I might do something drastic.”

Pidge snorted, “Right. Just try to ask Lance for permission first,” she joked, “Now c’mon, we’re going to be late at this rate.”

They barely made in time as the celebration began and Mayor Griffin stood at the pulpit, smiling at the crowd and waving brightly. Lance stood a few feet away, dawned in a beautiful red and green dress that had purple polka-dots littered across it. This time the dress was one that flowed on the way to the ground, the chest done in a sweetheart neckline. A beautiful ruby necklace rested at the base of his neck, the stones glinting in the light.

“Welcome everyone to the Garrisonville Annual Christmas Celebration!” James’ voiced boomed across the crowd, “We’re going to begin the festivities like always, with the nominations for who should this year’s Garrisonville Holiday Cheer-meister! Are there are any nominations?”

For a split second, there was a whispered silence as everyone looked at each other. Hunk bit his bottom lip for a moment, wondering if he would making the right call with this choice. But he knew something had to be done, Christmas should be for everyone! _Darn it with rhyming!_

“I nominate the Krinch!” He shouted in a rush of adrenaline.

If there was silence before, it was nothing compared to the absolute stillness of the world around him. Everyone had snapped their heads in his direction. Pidge looked shocked, but impressed. Shiro and Adam were holding their breaths, and Lance. Lance looked as if Hunk had just called out his greatest fear.

James though, he seemed to look at Hunk with a blank and unreadable expression.

“My, my,” he said into the mic, “We have quite the daring person amongst us. That’s quite a friend you have there, Ms. Holt,” he added.

“Thanks,” Pidge said, feeling awkward.

“Hunk,” James called out, “I’d like to share a verse, from the Book of Atlas,” he lifted up a large brown leather bound book. Hunk swallowed, feeling nervous, “The term _Krinchy_ ,” James began, “shall apply, when _Christmas Spirit_ is in short supply,” he snapped his eyes back at him, “Now, Hunk. Does that _really_ sound like a Holiday Cheer-Meister to you?”

“W-well, that may be true, Mayor Griffin,” he said, biting back nerves, “But the Book of Atlas also says this: _No matter how different they may appear, he will always be welcomed with Holiday cheer_!”

Everyone around him let out a small noise before snapping their heads back to the mayor, trying to see what he would do now. Hunk felt relief flush through and for once he was grateful for having actually taken the stupid bet from Pidge to memorize the whole Book of Atlas.

Mayor Griffin stumbled over his words, not really expecting someone else to be educated in the book as well, “Yes,” he said, “But you see,” he began, leafing through the book in random, “the Book also says that the award, uh, _cannot_ go to the Krinch because something as serious as this cannot solved in a pinch,” he finished before shutting the book. Hunk looked at him with a sour expression, not buying into his words at all.

“You just made that up,” he said, earning another noise from the crowd as they looked back their mayor. James suppressed an agitated groan and instead smiled pleasantly.

“Fine, Hunk,” he said, “If you’re so sure you want to _ruin_ a perfectly good nomination.”

“I’m sure,” He said, “After all, the book does say that the cheer-meister is the one who deserves the backslaps and toast, _and_ that it goes to the Christmas soul that needs it the most,” he smiled, “And well, I believe that Christmas soul is the Krinch. And if all of you gathered around here are the people who I really hope you are, then you’ll believe it too!”

The crowd burst into loud cheers at Hunk’s declaration, and many chimed in with their opinions, believing Hunk to be right. James rolled his eyes.

“I already said it was fine, there was no necessary reason to bring up that rhyme!” He said, “Now then, the next matter at hand is what to do when the Krinch doesn’t come down? Because he _won’t_.”

“Well obviously the mayor would get the crown,” the vice mayor piped out. James sighed.

“More or less,” he said, then he turned his attention back to Hunk, “Good luck,” he mouthed before leaving the pulpit to be amongst the crowd as the music started up.

“Geez, Hunk,” Pidge said, “How on _earth_ are you going to get him to come down?”

Hunk grinned and pulled out a familiar invitation, “By invite of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> Rhyming is a JERK. Seriously! It's like once you start, your brain just can't shut if off. AAAAAH!
> 
> Apologies for any mistakes, I tried my best to fix what I could! I don't have a beta, and I'm not quite sure how to get one, so I am really sorry if I missed some things while proofreading!
> 
> But what did you guys think? Comments? Thoughts? Opinions? Did you like it? I really hope so, I worked super hard! I wanted to write this out really bad, and my friends, it is draining me!
> 
> Part 2 will be out hopefully by the 28th! It's almost done, just gotta get the drama out of the way and stuff, haha.
> 
> Again, I know it's different from the movie in _a lot_ of ways, but I wanted to be creative and give a small touch of originality, with some details from the show placed in as well! Kudos and love if you found them!
> 
> This is the longest chapter I have ever written, and it was very taxing. But I liked it because it gave me a bit more freedom to write things out a bit more.
> 
> Merry Belated Christmas, peeps! And Happy Holidays! I hope it was great! Till next time!
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> **Your comments mean a lot to me, they really do, so please feel free to leave me one! I love hearing your thoughts, ideas, and opinions!**
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> **✧ ─=≡Σ((( つ•̀ω•́)つ**
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> **You can catch me on Tumblr @paidenzilla or at Instagram @Paidendryl**
> 
> **Thanks for reading!**
> 
> **Apologies for any grammar errors!!**
> 
> **Please leave a comment or a critique (if ya want!)**
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>  
> 
> Also, I couldn't decided if I wanted any cussing, so I figured the adults might, but I left Hunk kinda out of it. Only because I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be a kid or not-if you can tell from the story, haha. So that's a bit ambiguous. If you want him a kid, I hope he seems like it. If you want an adult, I hope you see it that way as well! Again, thank you guys for taking the time to read this! It really means a lot to me!
> 
> Also, I highly recommend you look up the tag on instagram under "you'vebeenkrinched" the art is AMAZING!!


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